Derby to use state grant toward downtown redevelopment

By Jean Falbo-Sosnovich

Updated 4:34 pm, Thursday, December 21, 2017

DERBY — As her final few days in office near, Mayor Anita Dugatto received news this week about downtown redevelopment.

Dugatto announced that Derby was awarded a $200,000 state grant in support of the city’s efforts to restore the downtown to help transform the area it into a “vibrant hub of economic and community activity.”

Derby was one of 14 municipalities to receive state funding through the Department of Economic and Community Development aimed at revitalizing Connecticut’s cities and towns.

This latest grant, Dugatto said, will be used to conduct environmental assessments in the downtown redevelopment zone, which she said is a necessary step “to pave the way for construction of the street grid for which the city previously received a $5 million grant.”

Dugatto said both the study and construction of the street grid are “vital” to attracting private investors to the downtown.

“It is an honor to have been chosen as only 14 municipalities in the state to receive awards in this round of grant funding aimed at revitalizing Connecticut’s cities and towns,” said Dugatto. “This award speaks to the strength of Derby’s plan and the positive momentum of our efforts.”

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, in a press release, announced that $13.6 million in funding was awarded to 14 towns and cities, with the goal to remediate and revitalize some 89 acres of blighted properties.

The money will be used to assess, remediate and revitalize blighted properties, also known as brownfields, in anticipation of the sites being put back into productive use.

“These kinds of properties that have been vacant for decades are causing blight in neighborhoods, draining local resources and having a negative impact on towns and cities,” Malloy said in the release. “We can add value in our communities by making smart investments that repurpose these properties, resulting in a boost for local economies and spurring growth and private investments.”

According to Malloy, for every dollar the state has invested in brownfield redevelopment, non-state partners have invested or will invest $11.41. Since 2012, for instance Connecticut has invested more than $220 million in brownfield redevelopment, resulting in creation of more than 3,000 permanent jobs and over 15,000 construction jobs in the state.

State DECD Commissioner Catherine Smith, in a prepared statement, said the funding will “help spur commercial activity, promote transit-oriented development, create new housing, curb blight and address public health and safety concerns - all keys to boosting economic vibrancy.”

Derby has been working with DPZ Partners, with public input, in developing a detailed plan dubbed “Downtown Now!” for the 14-acre redevelopment zone. The land has remained vacant for several years, and is “largely void of economic activity” since most of the previous buildings that stood on the land were demolished several years ago, Dugatto had said.

Two attempts at major downtown redevelopment occurred, in 2008 and 2013, by Ceruzzi-Derby Redevelopment and California developer Eclipse, respectively, but neither panned out.

Mayor-elect Richard Dziekan, who defeated Dugatto in the Nov. 7 election, will officially take office after his inauguration ceremony, scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 2 at Derby High School. He has been working with Dugatto over the last couple of weeks to ensure a smooth transition into office. One of hjs first orders of business, he has said, will be to hire a full-time economic development director, and a dedicated grants writer, to assist in downtown redevelopment.